Palin book goes after McCain camp

But the 413-page tome doesn’t contain a single reference to the father of her grandson, soon-to-be Playgirl model Levi Johnston.

In ‘Going Rogue’, which will be released on Tuesday, Palin also laments about everyone in her entourage being forced to wear fancy clothes she couldn’t afford — preferring simpler, cheaper garb. But it’s as if Johnston, who was among those hastily spiffed up to appear at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota, had never left Wasilla, Alaska. The tactic does appear to have merit; Johnston, who has sparred repeatedly with his former mother-in-law-to-be, continues to warn that she should leave him alone, or he might dish some serious dirt that “will hurt her”. While the book — which contains 68 color photos but no index — stays away from Johnston, the former vice presidential candidate digs in when it comes to those who ran Sen John McCain’s campaign.

She confirms that there was substantial tension between her advisers and McCain’s. She bitterly details how she was prevented from delivering a concession speech on election night, how she’d been kept “bottled up” from reporters during the campaign and prevented in many ways from just being herself. She also contends she was prepped to give non-answers during her debate with Joe Biden.While the book follows Palin’s life from her birth in Sandpoint, Idaho, to wondering about the next stop in her future, Palin, who received an advance of at least $1.25 million, saves her strongest words for run-ins with McCain staffers and her widely panned interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric. She describes Couric as condescending, biased and “badgering”. She contends that the anchor chose “gotcha” moments while leaving the candidate’s more substantive remarks on the cutting room floor.
Written with Lynn Vincent, ‘Going Rogue’ is folksy in tone and homespun. Interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters will be televised next week to coincide with the book’s release.